Biographic - Sunday December 24, 2006 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

Transcript

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin emerged from the ashes of The Yardbirds in 1968 when guitarist Jimmy Page needed to fulfill the band's gig commitments in Scandinavia. He recruited 19-year-old singer Robert Plant, who suggested John Bonham as drummer, John Paul Jones like Page, a respected session musician- joined on Bass, initially billed as The New Yardbirds, the name Led Zeppelin was coined from a phrase that Keith Moon, drummer with the who used to describe gigs that had gone down disastrously. They recorded their debut album in just two weeks . A string of chart-topping albums made Led Zeppelin the biggest concert draw in the world in the early 1970s and their fusion of blues and rock spawned a host of pale imitations. But at the height of their success, fate seemed to conspire against them. Plant and his wife were badly injured in a car crash in Greece in 1975. Two years later, their son sickened and died from a respiratory infection. Then in 1980, John Bonham's wild lifestyle finally took its toll and the 32-year-old drummer died in his sleep. Saddened and dispirited, the remaining members called it a day and Led Zeppelin was disbanded. The band has reunited on occasion most notably at Live Aid in 1985, with Phil Collins and Tony Thompson fulfilling drum duties, and three years later for the 40th anniversary of Atlantic Records, with Bonham's son, Jason, on the Drum stool. Page and Plant have continued to collaborate intermittently. Having sold more than 300 million records to date, Led Zeppelin remains one of the greatest and most influential bands in rock history.

Tags